1964 Harmony-made Silvertone 621 000-Size Flattop Guitar
A friend of mine sent this over for consignment some time back, but I finally got it in the mix. It's one of the cleanest Silvertone 621s I've seen, and I've seen a fair number around here in for "quick fixes" over the years. The finish is particularly good and shows only the most minor wear for its age. It's also all-original save a new bridge, saddle, and pins -- the original "ebonized" maple or pearwood bridges tend to be just cracking-up garbage by the time they're this old.
I know a number of people who've had me fix this same model for them and they still own them -- a tribute to the earthy, rootsy sound this spruce-over-birch model has. It's a lot like the more-usual Harmony H162 but the birch back and sides give it more of a rumbly, growly, 1930s voice compared to the lighter-sounding mahogany-backed H162s. They're good chord-bangers and serve well for fingerpickers who dig-in.
Work included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new rosewood bridge, new bone saddle, new bridge pins, side dots install, cleaning, and a good setup. The neck is straight and action is bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret. I string these with 52w-11 gauges and steer people away from "regular" 54w-12 gauges because while the body won't protest, the necks will protest over time.
Condition notes: minor usewear/scratches here and there throughout but mostly very clean, replaced bridge+saddle+pins, otherwise original. Date stamp inside reads S-64.
I know a number of people who've had me fix this same model for them and they still own them -- a tribute to the earthy, rootsy sound this spruce-over-birch model has. It's a lot like the more-usual Harmony H162 but the birch back and sides give it more of a rumbly, growly, 1930s voice compared to the lighter-sounding mahogany-backed H162s. They're good chord-bangers and serve well for fingerpickers who dig-in.
Work included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new rosewood bridge, new bone saddle, new bridge pins, side dots install, cleaning, and a good setup. The neck is straight and action is bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret. I string these with 52w-11 gauges and steer people away from "regular" 54w-12 gauges because while the body won't protest, the necks will protest over time.
Scale length: 25 1/8"
Nut width: 1 3/4"
String spacing at nut: 1 7/16"
String spacing at bridge: 2 1/16"
Body length: 19"
Lower bout width: 15 1/8"
Waist width: 9 1/4"
Upper bout width: 11 1/2"
Side depth at endpin: 3 7/8"
Top wood: solid spruce
Back/sides wood: solid birch
Neck wood: poplar
Bracing type: ladder
Fretboard: ebonized maple or pearwood, bone nut
Bridge: rosewood, bone saddle, ebony pins
Neck feel: medium C shape, ~10-12" board radius
Condition notes: minor usewear/scratches here and there throughout but mostly very clean, replaced bridge+saddle+pins, otherwise original. Date stamp inside reads S-64.
The new bridge has a drop-in saddle for convenience. I picked-out a greyish-looking rosewood bridge from my stash of them so it'd match more closely with the faded ebonized fretboard.
The original tuners serve just fine -- though keep in mind all these old tuners are about 12:1 ratio and a fussier than modern Kluson-style repros or the like.
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